朱銘JU Ming (1938-2023) 生於苗栗縣通霄鎮。本名朱川泰，童年時小名「九二」。上有五兄姐，為家中老么，家境貧寒。1953年在父親帶領下，到通霄鎮上的媽祖廟向雕刻師傅李金川拜師，1955年出師，1956年北上到基隆的佛具店工作。1968年拜雕塑家楊英風為師。早期以鄉土主題，如《牛》、《牧童》等雕刻出名，近期則以融合了中國哲學如《太極》等的現代雕刻名作。1976年在國立歷史博物館舉辦個展，廣受藝術界的重視。同年，獲選台灣十大青年，又獲國家文藝獎章。1978年，朱銘在日本東京中央美術館展出，作品《單鞭下勢》被日本雕刻之森美術館收藏。1981年，獨自一人到美國紐約市學習，這一年後，所創作的《人間》系列作品，成為他生涯中最受讚譽的經典代表。1989年，他與建築師貝聿銘合作，在香港中國銀行大廈前使用青銅為材質，創作《和諧共處》的人間系列作品，位於大樓入口大門的左側。1999年，朱銘在台北縣金山鄉西勢湖成立朱銘美術館，收藏許多現代雕塑作品。2000年，花了幾十年規劃成立的朱銘美術館，獲得日本東京創新大獎Tokyo Creation Award海外獎。2005年發表「人間系列－三軍」作品，包含了抗戰英雄、現代的陸、海、空三軍四種主題，整個創作時間歷時四年，作品總件高達數三百餘件。2007年開始，朱銘「人間系列」的色彩開始轉變，轉為白色。朱銘：「以後，我的雕刻上色只用白色……，這是一種成長！」白色的色彩嚐試，抽離了朱銘以往利用彩色的說明性與裝飾性來描述作品身分與情境的表現方式，宣示著朱銘的藝術創作，將以呈現更純粹的造型世界，更力求透視本質的材質語彙為新方向。

JU Ming was born in Tongxiao Town, Miaoli County, Taiwan. In 1953, at his father's instigation, he began learning with the famous craftsman for two years, LI Jin Chuan, at Mazhumiao in Tongxiao Town, where he studied wood carving. The following year, he secured gainful employment in a shop that dealt in Buddhist Tools, in Keelung. In 1968 he began his learning under YANG Ying Feng. Early in his career, he made a name for himself in the villages surrounding where he lived for his sculptures of cows and cowboys. More recently, his modern sculptures integrate the philosophy of Taiji. In 1976, he was widely regarded by art circles at a solo exhibition at the National History Museum. In the same year, JU was awarded one of ten medals for excellent youths of Taiwan. His international exhibition was held at the Tokyo Central Museum of Art in 1978 and his work collected by the Sculpture and Art Museum of Japan. In 1981 he went to study in New York, where the following year, in direct result of the tremendous success his Living World Series, JU experienced a major turning point in his artistic career. In 1989, he worked in conjunction with a famous architect to recreate the Living World Series, cast in bronze, to stand in front of the Hong Kong Bank of China. The JU Ming Art Museum in Taipei, housing many of his works of modern sculpture, was built in 1999 and in 2000, on the basis of managing the JU Ming Art Museum for ten years; he won the Tokyo Creation Award.